Foreign Territory
by ccootttt
Summary: Robberies by a giant turtle like creature leads to an adventure in a strange land, that Mystery Inc. will never forget...
1. Worlds Collide

_Author's Note: Okay a side project from my series :)_

_Written because I wanted to write a crossover and well, right now Mario games and Scooby Doo is my addiction x3_

_Please review and tell me what you think :D_

Screams pierced the night sky as the patter of footsteps merged in with the rainfall. It was a cold late November evening and Mystery Incorporated had gotten themselves into yet another case; this time however, things seemed to have gotten out of hand.

Continuous cries for help shattered the silence as a red haired woman, soaked through, was being carried away by some sort of turtle like beast. Following them was a sodden gang of detectives, desperately hoping they didn't lose track of the monster and the young girl carelessly slung over it's shoulder.

"Freddie? Velma?" The young woman called out into the darkness, not quiet able to see past the dripping auburn locks that clung to her pale face. "S-Shaggy, Scooby?...Anybody! She screeched desperately, trying to wriggle free of the beast's vice like grip.

"Don't worry Daphne, We're here!" A Blonde haired boy yelled back. "J-just stay calm!"

"Stay calm!" Daphne shrieked, "How the hell am I-"

"Shut it you little runt!" The beast suddenly growled at her.

Daphne's eyes widened and inhaled deeply before letting out an ear splitting scream. This was the first word the beast had spoken since they encountered it, and just it's voice sent chills down her spine. "Freddie!" She cried out once again.

"Like, for such a big guy, he can really move, like, fast man!" Shaggy gasped, letting out a small goofy laugh as he tried to keep up with Fred, who was way ahead of him, Scooby or Velma. The farthest back was Velma, she'd never been as fast as the rest of the group, Daphne could even out run her in six inch heels, but she was pushing herself to her limit at the moment as she tried to keep up.

The four detectives continued to sprint after the creature and didn't slow down once, until they saw it come to a sudden halt that is. A cold, triumphant laugh echoed through the narrow alleyway, then the pair appeared to disappear before their eyes.

"Where...where did..did they go?" Velma gasped, as she rested her hands on her knees.

"Like, I dunno man." Shaggy said, petting Scooby on the head.

Scanning the floor where the creature once stood, Fred let out a frustrated growl, "I can't believe I let him get away with her!" His hands clenched into fists as he spotted a metal plate on the floor. "There." He grunted, falling to his knees.

"Rhat?" Scooby said, moving closer and sniffing the metal plate. The dogs head suddenly shot open and his tail began wagging. "Ranhole!"

"Shaggy, help me lift this off, He must have taken her down into this sewer." Fred murmured.

Daphne continued to scream as the beast hauled her across a field. He'd slowed down a lot now and seemed t be strolling, smiling as he looked around. It wasn't raining now, in fact it wasn't really that cold any more; a rather pleasant evening actually, apart from the kidnap that is.

"Let me go!" Daphne cried, craning her neck to get a batter look at her captor.

"Haha nice try honey," He paused, throwing her harshly onto the green grass of the field, "You're in my world now."

A sudden uneasy feeling came over her as she stared into the face of the creature for the first time. This one was different, the scales and the jagged teeth seemed so real this time, and his eyes so unnerving. "W-what do you mean?" She said in a small voice.

"You're not on earth any more sweetie." He leaned in close to her, gripping her arms and holding them painfully tight by her sides as he breathed heavily into her face. "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom."

Her eyes were wide, for once in her life she actually believed that this monster may be the real thing, there was no way that a costume could have been made so...realistically. Finding it hard to breath, she remained completely still in his arms as he grinned down at her, a wild glint in his eyes.

"Bowser." A voice called out.

The beast, known as 'Bowser' turned away from Daphne, to find two men dressed in blue overalls. "Plumbers." Her grunted.

"I thought I told you to stay out of the kingdom." The red clad plumber hissed. His eyes narrowed and searched Bowser, then lay to rest on Daphne, still soaked through and trembling. "Up to old ticks again then?"

"What's it got to do with you?" Bowser roared back, nostrils flaring.

"Let her go." The plumber dressed in green ordered, stepping forward.

"Sure thing losers." Bowser laughed, before tossing Daphne to one side and spitting fire at the two men.

Daphne gasped and covered her eyes. Slowly, she dared to look at the fight that had broken out before her, and watched in anticipation as the two plumbers fought the ferocious beast.

"Like, where are we?" Shaggy murmured softly, looking around.

"I don't know Shag, but Daphne's gotta be here somewhere." Fred said softly.

"T-this is impossible..." Velma whispered as she looked at her surroundings, "I mean, a minute ago we were...this can't be real..."

They were stood by a large green pipe, which they had just climbed out of. They were in some sort of countryside, where it was they didn't know. I was dark, but the grass was a lot greener than usual, there were strange flowers dotted about and bricks floating in mid air. In the distance they could see a small village, but the housed were strange, most seemed to be in the shape of mushrooms, while other's looked like small old fashioned cottages. It was like something out of a children's book. Past the village, they could see a truly breath taking sight. A castle stood atop a hill, painted in pink and white, with pointed towers and large coloured doors. It looked amazing.

"Fred, I think we should go that way." Velma said softly.

"Yeah, maybe we can find help...and find out where in the word we are."

Daphne watched the two men fight the monster named Bowser, amazed at their ability to jump so high and shoot fire from their fingertips. The battle was short and soon enough the beast was running for a nearby pipe, cursing the two men as he went, "I'll get you plumbers, just wait, tomorrow is another day!" It bellowed.

"Don't bother Bowser, you're not getting your grubby hands on the princes again!" The man in red shouted back.

They turned as Bowser disappeared down the green pipe and walked towards Daphne, comforting smiles on their faces. "Hey, you look scared, Don't worry you're safe now." The man dressed in green watched Daphne as she brushed the wet hair from her eyes, but remained silent. "I'm Luigi, this is my brother Mario." He pointed to the man dressed in red.

"Evening madam." Mario smiled, reaching out to take her hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet, steadying her when she swayed.

"W-where am I?" She stammered.

"You're in the Mushroom Kingdom, the question is, how did you get here?" Mario said.

"I-I don't quite now. One minute I'm being carried through an alleyway by...by that thing, and the next thing I knew we were climbing out of a big green pipe!"

"h, she must have been attack by bowser and he brought her here through one of the warp pipes." Luigi told Mario.

Mario nodded, then turned back to Daphne, "We'll take you to the castle, then we'll ask the princess about all of this, she'll know what to do."

Daphne bit her lip, so this kingdom was real? "Th-that thing, w-what was it?" She whispered.

"That was Bowser, he'd the monstrous dictator of the dark lands. For years he'd been harassing the kingdom, demanding the princess's hand in marriage; when she refuses, he just takes her." Mario growled.

"He rules over his subjects with an iron fist, and wishes to do the same here." Luigi said sadly, "He never gives up."

"So, is he like...a real monster? Daphne asked, her voice low.

The two brothers simply nodded in reply, their head bowed. Daphne opened her mouth, but couldn't seem to find any words to sum up how she felt right now. So she'd been kidnapped by a _real _monster, was lost in a kingdom she's never even heard of and was about to go and meet the princess. 'Am I dreaming or something? Maybe in a coma?' she though, her head spinning. She couldn't think straight at the moment, she was feeling light headed and a sickness tainted her stomach. She saw colourful spots dance across her eyes before she felt the darkness engulf her as she fell to the ground.

"Like, what is _that?_" Shaggy exclaimed, looking down upon a small creature that appeared to have a mushroom atop its head.

"Shaggy, don't be rude!" Velma hissed as she elbowed him in the ribs, "Um, excuse me...sir?"

The small mushroom like creature looked up at her, a frown crossing its small round face. It gripped its spear tightly and quickly pointed it at Velma's face, causing the small girl to squeak. "Who are you and what is your business!" It shouted, in a high pitched yet still threatening voice.

Velma opened and closed her mouth, not able to say anything, only let out random syllables as she back away from the sharp point of the spear.

"Some kind of monster led us here!" Fred blurted out, causing the small creature to jump back a little, eyes wide.

It pulled out a whistle and blew it, closing its eyes as the sound filled the night air. Within seconds Mystery Inc. found themselves surrounded by similar creatures, the only variation seeming to be the coloured spots on their mushroom type heads. They were cornered, where ever they turned there was another pointing a spear at them, their faces deadly serious.

"What's going on here?" A feminine voice called out from behind the gates of the vast castle.

"We have intruders, sent here by bowser." One of the creatures called back, thrusting his spear forward as Scooby tried to see who the other voice belonged to.

"Hey! Like, we're not intruders!" Shaggy shouted.

"And we weren't sent by anyone!" Fred added, "We're just trying to find our friend!"

"Excuse me?" The voice called out again, but closer this time.

"Princess stay back!" Another creature yelled.

They could hear footsteps approaching, someone wearing heels by the sound of it. A young blonde woman stepped out from behind the castle walls, looking slightly confused. She had long golden blonde hair, just past her waist, and incredibly bright blue eyes, with porcelain skin and plump pink lips. Opening the gate, she walked towards them, her long pink dress swaying in the cool night breeze. She continued to walk towards them, until she was stood directly behind the creatures. "Guards, hold your position." She ordered, not looking away from the three young adults and their dog.

"Yes princess!" The guards chanted.

Looking them up and down, she coked her head to one side and bit her lip, crossing her arms. "Who are you?" She asked, directing the question to Fred, sensing that he was the leader.

Fred stared at the woman, mouth agape. She was stunning. He watched her bite her lip anxiously, awaiting a reply. 'Wow,she bites her lip just like Daph...' he thought, 'and her eyes...and skin...shes so much like...'

"Well?" She said, cutting him off from his thoughts.

"Uhh, Fred, Fred Jones."

Without averting her gaze, she parted her lips again, "And what is your business in my kingdom?"

Furrowing his brow, Fred looked at her, _her kingdom? _Who was this woman and where on earth were they? "We followed some kind of beast here, he kidnapped our friend."

Closing her eyes, shit bit her lip harder, stepping back slowly. "T-Toadsworth..." She murmured.

Another creature, looking much older than the rest, rushed to the woman's side. "Yes Princess?"

Sighing, the woman looked down at the creature, "When was the last reported sighting of Bowser?"

"Umm, 7 months ago if my memory serves me right." The creature replied, adjusting his monocle.

Shaking her head, the woman turned again to look at the gang, "Guards, bring them inside, I fear Bowser has returned once again..."


	2. Please Stay The Night

_Author's Note: okay, so please ell me what you think so far, ever review is appreciated! ^-^_

_I am taking a short break from my Scooby Doo series, as I have got a bit of writers block at the moment x.x_

_So anyway, here's the next chapter of my crossover, hope you like it! ^_^_

Mystery Inc. were ushered inside a large living room, mainly decorated in pink, white and cream. The all piled onto a couch, while Scooby jumped up and sat on a cream armchair. The Princess sat on the couch opposite them on the other side of the coffee table, the older looking creature names Toadsworth sat next to her. The Princess seemed to be in deep though, her head was resting on her hands as she nibbled her bottom lip.

"Excuse me, Princess?" Velma said softly, "Can you please tell us where on Earth we are?"

"You're not on Earth anymore..." The Princess replied distantly.

"T-Then like, where are we?" Shaggy stammered.

"Well, right now you're in the Mushroom Kingdom..." She said, once again not really concentrating on what they were asking.

"What are you going on about!" Fred shouted, finally losing his patience with the blonde woman.

Toadsworth shot up from his seat, "How dare you speak to the Princess like that! We can have you-"

"Toadsworth." The Princess said calmly, and reluctantly, the small toad sat down. "Mr. Jones, please calm down, can you please describe this 'beast' which has taken your friend?"

"It was some kind of turtle, a big one, with spikes on it's shell..." Fred said through gritted teeth. He looked at the Princess, she was gripping the skirt of her dress tightly as he described the monster which abducted Daphne just a few hours ago.

Raising her hand to her forehead she closed her eyes and gave orders to the small toad beside her. "Toadsworth, send for the Mario Brothers..."

"Please, can you help us find our friend" Velma asked the Princess as Toadsworth left the room.

"I've sent for help, the Mario Brothers have never let me down, if anyone can help with this it's them." The Princess said, her eyes still closed.

"Who is he, this monster?" Fred asked, still annoyed at the Princess's attitude to all of this.

"His name is Bowser, he rules over the kingdom bordering mine. He's a ruthless tyrant, he will stop at nothing to get what he desires..."

"So her desired Daphne?" Fred growled.

"Your friend? It's hard to say really. For years he's harassed me, and for most of that time we thought he was only planning to get his claws on the kingdom, it wasn't until recently we discovered his true motives."

"Which are?" Fred encouraged.

Shaking her head, the princess looked at him, "It doesn't matter, what matters now is he has your friend. We'll do our best to get her back."

Fred was about to ask the Princess more about the kingdom, when a small pink toad rushed into the room, "Princess! The Mario Brothers are here and they've found a young woman!"

"What! O-h my, bring them in here, quickly Toadette!" The princess ordered.

Mystery Inc. watched as two men dressed in blue overalls walked into the room, one of them carrying an unconscious red head.

"Daphne!" Fred gasped, rushing over to them. He pulled her away from the man in red and cradled her in his arms, "Daphne...Daph...Say something Daphne..." He said, patting her on the cheeks gently, but firm enough to wake her if she was sleeping. "What have you done to her!" Fred yelled, his eyes lazing as he looked at the two men.

"Nothing!" The one in red said defensively, "We saw her with bowser and rescued her, she passed out from shock when we told her where she was!"

The Princess looked at Daphne, and then at Fred, "Lay her down on here..." She said, pointing to the couch she sat on moments before.

Fred nodded and gently lay Daphne down, positioning a pillow under her head. He knelt next to her, brushing her hair back off her face as he inspected her. "Is she okay Freddie?" Velma asked timidly, peering over at the pair.

"Yeah...Yeah I think so...Just a few cuts and bruises by the looks of it." He replied, stroking her cheek.

"Mario..." The Princess murmured.

The man in red rushed to her side, "Peach what's wrong?"

"Bowser, where is he, what's he doing?" he asked, panic lacing her words.

"He was in the Kingdom, I don't now what he's planning, but it doesn't seem good."

"Is he coming here?" She asked. Mystery Inc. watched the Princess, she was trembling as she spoke, her words coming out shaken. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide.

"I'm not sure Peach. It does seem likely, now he's back he'll probably be after you again, and if his plans involve her," He nodded his head in Daphne's direction," then chances are this will be the first place he'll look."

Biting her lip, the Princess turned to face Mario, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Mario sighed and pulled her close, wiping away the few tears which managed to escape. "Why can't he leave us alone?" She whispered softly.

"Peach, don't worry okay, I'll never let him hurt you again like he has in the past..." He looked into her deep blue eyes and smiled, "I promise."

Peach smiled back, before turning to find everyone in the room staring at her. Her pale face was now bright red as she averted her gaze to the floor. "You all look exhausted, please, stay the night." She said softly.

"No, I think we need to leave, get back to where we belong." Fred growled, looking at Peach. "We need to go back to out own world."

"But, you can't leave just yet!" Peach cried, "It's so late and your friend is injured!"

"Fred, like, she's right." Shaggy said.

"Reah, Raphne reeds ro rest." Scooby said, jumping off the armchair and curling up beneath the couch Daphne lay on.

"Fine. We'll stay the night." Fred muttered reluctantly.

Peach smiled, "Toadette!" She called out, "Could you please show these people to their rooms?"

The same pink toad from before ran into the room and smiled at the group and paused while the Princess whispered to her. "Follow me please!" She chirped, smiling brightly.

Scooping Daphne up into his muscular arms, Fred and the rest of Mystery Inc. followed the small toad girl through the long corridors of the vast Mushroom Kingdom castle, staring in awe at the objects on the wall, varying from paintings to weapons. Velma paused halfway down the corridor heading towards a large staircase, and looked up at a painting of a blonde woman. "Is this the princess?" She asked the small toad, still staring at the picture.

Toadette threw her head back and gazed at the picture, a slight frown crossing her face. "No." She replied softly, "That was Queen Anne, the Princesses Mother, she passed away a few years back..."

"Like, what happened?" Shaggy asked, holding onto Scooby by the collar.

Still not taking her eyes of the painting, she sighed. "A war broke out between all of the Kingdoms...Bowser, he was close to winning..."

"D-did he kill her?" Fred practically whispered, clutching Daphne close to his chest.

The small toad nodded, blinking slowly as a tear dripped from her eyes. "Please," She said, still trying to sound happy despite the fact she was wiping tears from her face, "Follow me to your rooms."

Fred glanced at Velma, a frown on his face, "I don't like it here Velms..." He whispered softly, "We're in way over our heads his time."

"I know Freddie...I-I wish there was some way we could help here..." Velma whispered, following the small toad slowly.

"I wish we could too Velms, but I doubt there's anything we could do...I feel sorry for the Princess."

"Then, like, why give her such a hard time?" Shaggy interrupted.

Fred looked back at Shaggy and lowered his gaze to Daphne, "I-I don't know." He admitted. "I was just worried about Daph I guess, I just needed someone to blame..." Fred said, reaching the top of the staircase.

"This will be your room Miss." Toadette said, smiling warmly at Velma.

"Oh, thank you." Velma smiled, "Fred, please, try not to take out anything else on the Princess, she only wants to help." She whispered to Fred.

"Sir, you and your dog will be in the room opposite." Toadette said, opening the door for them.

"Rog, Rhere?" Scooby muttered.

"Like, come on Scoob." Shaggy chuckled as they walked into the room.

They continued down the hall until they reached two more doors, again, opposite each other. "Sir, this one will be your room, and this one will be your friend's." She said, pointing to the two different doors.

"Uh, I'd rather Daphne didn't stay on her own..." Fred murmured.

"Oh! I am sorry, but the Princess told me to put all of you in your own rooms, I didn't realise you two were a couple!" The toad said nervously.

"Oh no, w-we're not!" Fred cried defensively, "I mean uh, can't you put her in Velma's room or something!"

Toadette smiled as she watched Fred's pale cheeks burn a crimson red, "Sir, I assure you, she will e fine. The Princess has informed me that there will be someone in the room with her."

"Who?" He asked, frowning.

"One of the doctors at the castle will stop in for a while, then a servant will stay with her, trust me, she'll be fine."

Hesitantly, Fred walked into Daphne's room and laid her down gently on the bed. He paused, stroking her face softly as he stared down at her. After a few moments he stood up and left her room, looking back once more to check that she was still okay, before going to his own room.


	3. Sleepless Nights

_Author's Note: Okay, so here the next chapter, I hope you like it and please review to tell me what you think, I'll write another as soon as I can ^_^_

"Peach honey, what's wrong?" Mario murmured, rolling over in bed.

Peach sighed and rolled over to face him, "Mario I can't sleep."

"Well, I gathered that much." Mario chuckled, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close, "Have you had any sleep tonight, it's 3:15am for God sake!"

She shook her head and rested her head on his chest. "I just can't seem to sleep." She muttered, "I try to close my eyes, but I grow restless and need to open them, I can't keep still Mario!"

"You're worried aren't you?" He asked as she pulled away and sat up.

Nodding she rested her head in her hands. Mario stayed lay down, watching her as she rubbed her eyes and ran her hands through her blonde locks. "I need to go check on her." She said suddenly, jumping out of bed.

"Oh Peach please, just stay here okay?" Mario said, also getting out of bed. "She'll be fine, Toad's with her right? Nothings going to have happened to her, and I don't think that Fred guy would want anyone to-"

"Mario, I really don't care about him right now." She said stubbornly, pushing him away from her.

"Princess..." Mario murmured, pulling her close to him by her waist.

"Mario, you know I don't like it when you call me that..." She growled, still trying to pull away, but he kept a firm grasp.

"Just come back to bed, you need to get some sleep." He said, almost pleadingly.

"No Mario...I'll be right back, I promise..." She sighed, pulling away completely and walking out of the door.

Peach slowly crept along the corridors of the castle as she searched for the room containing Daphne. Avoiding each floorboard she knew creaked, she managed to sneak through the halls without anyone noticing she was there, smiling, she stepped into the corridor where all of the guests were staying. Speeding up a little, she wandered into Daphne's room, closing the door softly behind her.

Once inside the room, she looked around at Toad, her loyal servant whom she had known for years. "Toad?" She whispered.

"Oh, Princess, what are you doing here?"

Frowning slightly from the way the Toad had addressed her, she looked down at him, "How is she?"

"She's doing well, the doctor said she'll be fine, just a few cuts and bruises here and there." The small red and white toad beamed.

"Has she woken up yet?" Peach asked, glancing at the red head.

"No, not yet Princess." Toad answered.

"Alright Toad," She sighed, "You can take a break for while, I'll stay here while you're gone."

"Oh no Princess, you go back to bed, I'll keep an eye on her." Toad smiled.

"No Toad, you go and have a break, that's an order, not a request." Peach said sternly.

"Y-yes Princess." Toad stammered, not comfortable with the the Princess's serious tone.

Toad practically ran out of the room, closing it ever so lightly behind him. Smiling, Peach tip toed over to the bed, amused at Toads reaction to her orders. She perched on the edge of the bed, right next to Daphne and gazed down at her.

"Oh you poor girl..." She murmured softly, brushing Daphne's auburn hair from her face. She ran her hand over a plaster, placed at the to of Daphne's head, covering a small cut just below her hairline. She had a bandage wrapped around her right wrist, and dark bruises covered her pale skin.

Muttering something, Daphne began to stir. Her hands found Peach's and held onto them tight as her blue eyes flickered. "W-Where..." She paused, blinking rapidly as she looked at her surroundings. "W-Where am I?"

"Shhh...Its okay sweetie." Peach soothed, stroking Daphne's hair gently.

Daphne's eyes shot open fully as she looked at the unfamiliar woman. "W-Who are you!" She gasped, sitting up.

"Don't worry, your safe here," Peach said, placing her hand on Daphne's shoulder comfortingly.

"But, I-I...W-What...What's going on?" Daphne stammered, frowning at Peach.

"My friends found you with Bowser, that 'monster' as you may know him." Peach explained, pouring a glass of water from a nearby jug and handing it to Daphne, who gladly had some. "Once they told you where you were you fainted, so they brought you here to see me because I'm the Princess."

Daphne spat some of the water back into the glass as she choked. Peach stood up quickly and patted Daphne on the back, "T-The P-Princess!" Daphne coughed.

"Yes sweetie." Peach grunted, now rubbing her back.

"W-What...I...I-I'm so confused..." Daphne stuttered.

"Shhh...I know it's a lot to take in right now sweetie, but you need to rest."Peach said softly as she sat down beside her.

"But where are..."

"Your friends are all here honey, safe and sound, just go back to sleep..." Peach whispered, gently pushing Daphne back down onto the soft bed.

Resisting slightly, Daphne lay back down on the cushioned mattress, her eyelids drooping. "But..." She murmured once more before falling into a deep sleep.

Peach smiled and covered her mouth as she yawned. "Gosh, I didn't realise how tired I was..." she said to herself, rubbing her eyes. She felt her own eyes beginning to close as her head drooped.

Fred sat up in bed. "God, I can't take this..." He muttered, "I need to go check on her."

Standing up, he straightened the pyjama's he'd been loaned and stepped out of his room. "Daphne's room is right there..." He whispered softly to himself. Slowly, he lifted his hand to grip the doorknob, but paused. "Maybe I should just go back, I mean they said she'd be fine..." He murmured, "B-But what if she isn't?"

With that thought still running through his mind, he slowly pushed the door open and walked into the dark room. "D-Daph?" He whispered, "You awake?" No answer.

He crept across the room, over to the double bed as he listened to her soft breathing. He looked down, and spotted a dark figure lying on the bed. Smiling, he sat down beside her and stroked her cheek gently. He couldn't see properly in the darkness, but he could still make out her features, he'd recognise her anywhere.

She jerked up, head butting Fred in the process. They both cried out out and their hands shot to their heads, "Oww, what...what the hell!" She cried.

"Wait." Fred said, his mouth hanging open. That wasn't Daphne's voice..."Daphne?"

"What? No I'm Peach." She groaned in reply, rubbing her forehead.

Frowning, red pointed at Peach, "What are you doing in here?" He hissed. "Where's Daphne?"

"She's right there!" Peach hissed back, glancing at a lump underneath the duvet. "I just came in to check up on her, I must have dozed off..."

"Oh...Fred murmured. "How's your head?"

Peach shrugged, I dunno,it hurts, a lot." She rubbed it again, "I think its bleeding..." She said, keeping her hand on her forehead.

The light suddenly flickered on, causing both Fred and Peach to jump up. "W-What's going on?" asked a groggy voice.

Grinning, Fred leapt to her side, "Daphne, you're awake!" He chirped.

"Y-Yeah I am..."Daphne murmured, rubbing her eyes. "What are you...Oh my God!" Daphne gasped, sitting up in bed, "Princess, w-what happened to your head!"

Looking down at her hands, Peach let out a small squeak as she saw her reddened hands. "O-Oh my..." She stammered, raising her hand to her head.

"Oh God Princess, I-I'm so sorry!" Fred gasped, rushing over to see just how bad she was cut. He brushed her bloodstained fringe out of her face and winced, It was only a small cut, but it was bleeding quite a lot...

"Fred!" Daphne shouted, "What did you do?"

"No, no, it was me...I kinda head butted him..." Peach admitted, blushing a deep shade of pink.

"Heh, well you always said I was hard headed Daph." Fred chuckled.

"Oh Fred..." Daphne grumbled, shaking her head as she looked down at the duvet.

Peach stepped towards the door, "Well, I think I should go now, I really need to see the nurse..." Peach mumbled, holding her head.

"I'll come to." Fred said, also stepping towards the door. Peach opened her mouth to protest, but Fred simply raised a hand to dismiss any further comments. "Daphne you come too, I wanna get you checked over again."

"Freddie I'm fine, really." Daphne said.

"Daphne, you're coming with us." Fred said sternly.

"But Freddie," She moaned, still standing up to follow despite not wanting to, "You know I don't like doctors or nurses..."Rolling his eyes, Fred gripped Daphne by the wrist and pulled her out of the door.

They followed Peach closely down various corridors, Fred keeping his arm on her back,making sure that she didn't have a sudden fall due to the bump on her head. Daphne's eyes searched the walls and found herself caught up in admiring the paintings mounted on the walls. Smiling, Fred watched the mesmerised red head slow down to take a closer look at a painting on the wall, only to speed up seconds later to keep up with the other two.

"Freddie this place is gorgeous." Daphne whispered in his ear.

"I had a feeling you'd like this place..." Fred laughed quietly.

"It's amazing..." Daphne said distantly, her eyes landing on the same portrait the rest of the gang had seen earlier. "Wow...She'd beautiful..." Daphne said softly.

"Daph come on." Fred ordered, pulling her away.

"Freddie, W-Whats wrong? I was just looking at-"

"Daphne I'll tell you later." Fred growled, tugging her arm so she would quicken her pace.

Dropping the subject, Daphne just sighed and followed along behind Fred and Peach until they reached a door at the end of the corridor. Peach opened it and walked inside, attracting the attention of every toad in the room. "Princess!" They all cried simultaneously.

"Woah that was creepy." Fred said quietly to Daphne.

"I know right." Daphne replied, moving in closer to Fred.


	4. Morning

Groaning, Velma rolled over in bed, reaching for her glasses resting on the bedside cabinet. It took her a few minutes to remember where she was and what actually happened. Climbing out of bed she wandered over to the mirror to try and sort her unruly hair out.

She looked to the small stool and smiled, her clothes had been dry cleaned and left for her. Quickly, she changed out of the pyjama's she was loaned and into her own clothes before using the wash kit provided to clean herself up.

Leaving the room, she walked around the castle for a while, not quite sure where she was going until she stumbled upon a large, oak door with stain glass windows, finished with a plaque mounted on it with the word 'LIBRARY' printed across it. "Hmm, just my cup of tea." She grinned, gingerly pushing the heavy door open.

"Like, Scoob old buddy old pal, pinch me, cause I like, must be dreaming." Shaggy drooled as he sat in the dining room staring at the menu in front of him. "Like, ow man!" He cried as Scooby pinched him hard on the arm.

"Rhe he he." Scooby laughed, smiling devilishly as he read the menu thoroughly.

"Hello their Sirs, what can I get you?" asked a small toad holding a pen and pad.

"Like, uh, just bring us two of everything!" Shaggy grinned

"Reah." Scooby nodded.

The small toad's eyes widened as he looked at the pair in disbelief, "Well, the Princess did say to bring you whatever you needed..." The toad sighed as he walked away shaking his head.

Fred stood in the hallway, staring at a painting on the wall; a family portrait. The Princess only looked about three or four, she was smiling sweetly as the king cradles her in his arms. The king was also blonde, but it was a very pale blonde, not like Peach's golden blonde. Next to the king stood Queen Anne, smiling lovingly as she stood with her family, her hands resting on a young girls shoulder's. The girl looked to be around eight, maybe nine, with hair the same colour as the kings covering one of her turquoise eyes.

"Mr. Jones?" Called a timid voice, "Are you okay?"

Jumping, Fred turned to see Peach looking up at him. "Oh, uh yeah I'm fine."

"You just look a little lost." She smiled.

"Oh no, I was just taking a look around." He said, glancing at the portrait once again.

He watched Peach look at the painting from the corner of her eye, "Oh, I see. Well, I'll get going now..." She said weakly. Fred could see she was still in pain from losing her Mother, but he couldn't help it, his curiosity couldn't be contained.

"Princess," He said quickly, "W-Who are these people?" He said pointing at the picture.

"Oh..." Peach said, looking up at the picture, "T-Thats my family...They're no longer with us I'm afraid."

Fred watched as the Princess stared at the picture, biting her lip as she seemed to get lost in her own thoughts. "I-I know about your Mother..." Fred said softly, not sure if he should carry on when he heard her choke back a sob, "W-What happened to the others?"

"M-My Father, he died in battle." He watched as Peach dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief before continuing, "That's my sister," She said pointing to the younger girl, "She went missing when I was 5, I don't really remember her that much..."

Fred sighed softly, "Princess, I...I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, she forced herself to smile as she looked at Fred once more, "It's fine, really." She murmured, "Now I really should go..."

"How's your head?" Fred asked quickly, gripping her wrist as she tried to walk away.

"Oh, uh, much better than it was last night. Thanks for asking." She smiled sweetly.

"Good." He nodded, letting her go, blushing lightly.

"Dammit!" Daphne cursed after walking past the same suit of armour for the fourth time, "Why does this place have to be so confusing!"

Groaning, she turned a corner and stomped down it, complaining to herself as she did so.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed. She was sat at a small table in the library, a pile books scattered across it. The book she was reading at the moment was all about the Mushroom War. "So not only did the Queen lose her life in this war, but the King did as well..." Velma said aloud.

Flicking through the book she read facts about the war; it was 2 years long and was between The Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasland and the Darklands. The Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasland joined forces to fight the Darklands and at one point, was very close to losing.

Velma jumped as she heard the library door creak open. She put the book down on the table as she looked up to see Daphne stumble into the room. "Velma!" She gasped in relief as she looked over to the table.

"Daphne, how are you feeling?" Velma smiled, clearing the books away so Daphne could sit down.

"Despite the fact that I've just been wandering around a castle for and hour or so with no idea where I was going, pretty good."

Velma giggled, "Trust you to get lost."

"Oh shut up." Daphne pouted, "You guys had a general idea where you were going, I was out cold when you got shown to your rooms!" Daphne defended, even though she had a good look around last night on the way to see the nurse.

"Alright Daphne, I'm just joking." Velma chuckled, "But really Daph, are you feeling okay? I mean, we were all really worried."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine I guess." Daphne mumbled, looking down at the books, "It just kinda freaked me out, you now, getting kidnapped by a _real _monster and all..."

"Then being brought here, it does seem like a very strange place..." Velma added.

"Mmhmm." Daphne agreed, "What you reading?"

"Oh its uh, just a book about The Mushroom War."

"Oh yeah, Freddie told me something about that last night, about the Queen..." Daphne said, leaning over to look at the book with Velma.

"I was just about to start reading about what happened to her...The king died in battle a few days before the Queen was captured, then after that the Princess was also captured..." Velma summarised as she read the page.

"That's awful..." Daphne murmured, moving her chair in closer.

"It gets worse." Velma sighed as she read further down the page. "It says here that it was a public execution in the Darklands courtyard. The Queen was stoned and then hanged, and all the while the Princess was forced to watch..."

"Oh my God..." Daphne whispered, covering her mouth with a trembling hand.

Shaking her head, Velma looked up at Daphne, "That's horrible..."

Shaggy grinned as he looked at the empty plates before him, "Like Scoob, I on't think I could eat another bite." He laughed.

"Rai ro." Scooby smiled as he picked up a slice of cheesecake.

"Like, on second though man, wanna split that?" Shaggy asked, his mouth watering.

Chuckling, Scooby looked at Shaggy and then the cheesecake and then swallowed I whole. "Rummy." Scooby smirked.

"P-P-Princess!" Cried a panicked vocie, "P-Princess!"

"What, like no man, its Shaggy." Shaggy said, saying his name very slowly as Toadsworth ran into the room.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He cried, "I need the Princess immediately!"

"Like dude, cool it." Shaggy said, eyes wide as he watched the small toad pace back and forth.

"Luigi I can't wait to get some break-"

"Master Mario, Master Luigi!" Toadsworth shouted as the plumbers walked through the door.

"Oh, morning Toadsworth." Mario smiled.

"Master Mario, Bowser's on his way!" Toadsworth cried.

"W-What?" Luigi said fearfully.

"T-The spy in their kingdom, he reported to us, Bowser is coming for the Princess again." The toad said, flailing his arms around as he spoke.

"L-Like is that the big turtle thing?" Shaggy said, shaking as he stood up and gripped scooby around the neck.

Mario nodded, his fists clenching. "How long do we have?"

"I-I'd say three hours at the most." Toadsworth said glumly.

"Did he say anything about that other girl?" Luigi asked, glancing at Shaggy and Scooby.

"Yes actually." Toadsworth said softly, watching as Shaggy began to step forward, a terrified look on his face.

"Does he like, still want Daphne?" He asked, his face pale.

Toadsworth shook his head, "He said that Bowser doesn't even know who she is, he just grabbed her on his way back, it's not her he wants."

Sighing with relief, Shaggy and Scooby looked at the Mario Bros. They were both talking quietly as the Toadsworth desperately tried to hear what they were saying.

"Toadsworth," Mario said finally, "Alert the guards and gather all our guests and the Princess in the throne room, we need to get them to safety."

A few minutes later, Mystery Inc., the Mario brothers, the Princess and Toadsworth were all in the throne room.

"Princess, what are we going to do? Toadsworth asked, looking up to the Princess for guidence.

Peach sat on her throne, her head in her hands as she tried to clear her mind. At the moment she was close to tears, Bowser always seemed to attack at the worst possible times, and this wasn't any exception. Somehow, she would have to get Mystery Inc. past the attacking koopas and through the warp pipe back to their own world, but the chances of that happening were slim.

"Princess..." Mario soothed, standing beside Peach and massaging her shoulders.

"Mario please, I'm trying to think." Peach said standing up. "We need to get the army and...a-and..."She sighed, holding her head.

"Peach, please try and relax...you're not thinking straight." Toadsworth comforted.

"Toadsworth, send the army out to all of the points we arranged, have them cover the boarder, but whatever you do, don't let them attack first, it'll just cause more trouble, this is a defensive..." The Princess continued giving orders as Mystery Inc. watched in suspense.

"Mario, Luigi," Peach said, "I'm trusting both of you to take these people back to the warp pipe and see that they get back to their world okay, then return to the castle as soon as you can."

"Yes Princess." The said in unison.

"Wait,"Fred spoke up, "We can't just leave you all like this."

"Please Mr. Jones, you need to leave." Peach said sternly.

"No." Fred said, standing over Peach, "We're Mystery Inc. and we help those who need it."

"Maybe back on Earth you do, but not here." Peach argued.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not leaving." Fred growled, towering over Peach, "When a person needs help you should help them, despite where they're from."

Peach glared at Fred. "Fine." She hissed.

Fred smirked, "Good, cause I have a plan, if everyone's willing that is..."


	5. Mix Up

_Author's Note: okay, so I am trying to get this story going, because right now, its just been basically an intro to the main action and stuff :) So this is the first chapter with some action, so please, tell me what you think in a review if it's not too much trouble ^-^_

Fred smiled as he walked into the large bedroom and laid his eye to rest upon the dainty red head sat at the dresser, staring tat herself in the mirror. He wandered over to her, watching as she slid another layer of gloss over her pink lips. "You look beautiful." He reassured, smiling warmly at her.

Sighing, she didn't avert her gaze from her reflection. Fred watched her closely; her blue eyes were wide, with a smooth curve of eye liner making them even wider. Her skin was pale, with just a subtle hint of pink highlighting her cheekbones as her pearly teeth nibbled her soft pink lips nervously.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Terrified." she whispered, shutting her eyes tight.

"Don't worry okay, things are going to turn out fine, I promise." Fred said confidently, "Where's Daphne?"

"She's still getting ready, she should be out any minute."

As if on cue, the door to the en suite bathroom opened and out stepped a blonde woman in a lacy pink dress. "How do I look?" She smiled.

Holding back a chuckle, Fred smiled, "You look great Daph."

Daphne grinned, "I really don't feel comfortable in this, how can you wear stuff like this all the time?"

Laughing, Peach stood up, pulling her purple mini-dress straight, "I never said I enjoyed wearing them."

Checking his watch, Fred looked up at the two girls, each tampering with the other's appearance. "Come on, we need to get everything sorted downstairs." He said before walking out of the room.

"Like Velms, do you think this is gonna work?" Shaggy asked as he pulled on a rope attached to the chandelier.

"You know what Shaggy, I have no idea." Velma grunted as she also began to pull on the rope.

"Like, I mean Fred's had some pretty crazy ideas but-"

"This one takes the cake." Velma finished, giggling softly.

"Rake?" Scooby chirped, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Figure of speech Scoob." Shaggy explained, still pulling on the rope.

At this point Fred walked into the room with the two girls. Smiling, he wandered over to check how Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were doing and left Peach and Daphne to once again tamper with each other's image.

Mario looked up from his plan to see the two girls stood giggling. Slowly, he stood upand sauntered over to them. "Hey Peach." He smiled, tugging Daphne towards him by the waist.

"Uh, M-Mario..." Daphne stammered, blushing softly. Turning to face him she squeaked as he pressed his lips against her cheek softly

"Mario!" Peach gasped as she gripped him by the arm and pulled him away from Daphne.

Eyes wide, Mario peered at Daphne, before turning to stare at Peach in a similar way. "Mama mia!" he cried brushing the red hair of the wig out of her face, "Peach is that really you?"

"Yes," she growled, hitting him lightly on the shoulder, "It is."

"I-I uh, I didn't know you'd gotten changed already, I-I mean you look so alike, I-" He rambled.

"Like wow man, they really do look alike." Shaggy agreed as he walked over.

"Yeah Daph, you look just like the Princess!" Velma exclaimed, also walking over with an annoyed looking Fred.

"Daphne are you sure about this?" Peach said gently.

Nodding, Daphne smiled weakly and looked at the Princess. "Yeah, just a little nervous."

Hours had passed since the trap had been set, but still, there was no sign of Bowser. Daphne was perched on the edge of the throne as she anxiously awaited the approaching attack, occasionally glancing in the direction of the unseen allies dotted about the room. Opening her mouth to speak, Daphne immediately closed it as a low rumbling was heard, gradually becoming louder. Slowly, she rose to her feet, holding her breath.

A sudden explosion caused the room to fill with smoke as the wall behind the throne was destroyed. Daphne was thrown to the floor as bits of brick and dirt flew through the air. Groaning, Daphne looked up from the floor to see a large pair of scaly feet in front of her. Exhaling deeply, she slowly followed the figure up until she was staring straight into the eyes of the terrifying beast.

"Hey there Princess." He greeted in a low, threatening voice.

"Daphne, a low voice hissed into her ear piece, "We've lost all visual, what's happening?"

"Scrambling to her feet, she backed away from Bowser, unable to see clearly through the smoke in the room. She looked down at her chest for the small microphone, only to find she had lost it in the blast. 'Oh God,' she thought, 'time for all that martial arts training to pay off...'

"I can't see anything!" Fred yelled.

"Come on Luigi!" Mario shouted, "We need to get in there now!"

"Wait!" Velma cried, "The smokes clearing!"

The group turned their attention to the centre of the room and felt their jaws hit the floor. Daphne was locked in battle with the Koopa King, but unfortunately, it seemed to be a losing battle. She was trying, she really was, but her training seemed to be of no use against the brute strength and skill of her opponent. Fred watched in horror as the mighty king gripped her arms from behind and pulled them at a painful angle behind her back. Crying out in pain, Daphne stopped trying to fight back and stayed completely still. When she moved, he just pulled harder and laughed evily as she screamed.

Mario stared in awe as Bowser raised a claw to Daphne's throat. "Come any closer and she's a goner." Bowser grinned.

Fred felt his heart beating faster and faster as he watched Daphne desperately scream for help. Then he was sure he felt his heart stop as a red head in a purple dress dashed past him and towards Bowser. Before anyone could stop her, Peach was stood before Bowser, a determined look on her face.

"Aww," Bowser laughed, "Well if it isn't my little friend from last ni-" He was cut off as a roar filled the air. Peach had taken off Daphne's lilac high heeled shoe and thrown it at him, hitting him square in the eye. Dropping Daphne, his hands shot to his left eye as he stumbled backwards, giving both girls a chance to get out of the way.

"Now!" Fred ordered, and in an instant, the chandelier was circling the Koopa King as he roared in anger.

The group jumped into action, surrounding Bowser with chains, preparing to immobilise the beast. However, refusing to go down without a fight, Bowser somehow managed to break free of the chains and chandelier by using brute strength.

"Everyone get down!" Mario yelled as he jumped into a fighting stance.

"Heh, you think you can defeat me? Well, We'll just see about that!" Bowser laughed, swiping at the plumber, unfortunately catching him off guard and sending him plummeting into the wall.

Daphne backed up against a wall, her heart pounding as she watched Luigi run towards Bowser, only to be swiped away like Mario. She felt sick as the beasts eyes fell upon her as a twisted smile crossed his face. Peach ran and gripped Daphne by the arm and dragged her away.

"We need to get you out of here." She gasped as she pulled her up the stairs.

Peach led Daphne to a bedroom on the second floor and slammed the door shut after her. Daphne watched as Peach ran to the set of drawers and pulled out a key. Quickly locking the door, Peach turned to face Daphne. "The trap didn't work, we need to change clothes again, or at least take the wigs off."

"No!" Daphne protested, "Fred planned it like this to keep you safe, that was the whole point!"

A knock was heard at the door, and a second later, it was thrown off it's hinges and onto the floor at the girls feet. "Well hello there ladies." Bowser grinned.

Still grinning, he pushed Daphne onto the bed and approached Peach. Grabbing the by the throat, he pushed her against the wall. "You are a lovely little girl aren't you? A feisty one too b the looks of it..." He smiled.

"Let her go!" Daphne demanded, hitting Bowser in the back of the head. Without warning, he reached around and gripped Daphne by the throat with his free hand, holding her up besides Peach.

"I mean look at you, you're just as pretty as my little Princess here." He said, watching the two girls squirm as they desperately tried to catch their breath. "However," He smiled, "You're not any of my concern." With that he threw Peach to one side and into the wardrobe. Daphne, still struggling to breathe, watched in terror as the wardrobe began to topple before falling atop the small Princess trying to gather the strength to stand.

Peach screamed as the wardrobe was about to hit her, but was cut off, filling the room with silence, except for the quiet gasps escaping from Daphne's mouth.

Lifting the now light light headed Daphne onto his shoulder, Bowser made his way to the window and jumped out, landing in his clown copter as he laughed triumphantly.


	6. Forming Plans

_Author's Note: Okay, so sorry for not updating this or my other story lately but I've been really busy at school. Please be patient with any updates from me for the next few months._

Hammering on the beast's hard shell, Daphne screamed for help as she was carried out of the clown copter. Her voice was hoarse from the journey which she spent constantly demanding to be put down, but was denied the request; instead, the koopa king held her over his shoulder the entire way.

"Calm down Princess," Bowser sighed, "I thought we'd gotten past all of this shrieking."

"Put me down!" Daphne spat back, turning to try and look at him.

"As you say." He grinned, coming to a halt before dropping her on her back.

Grunting, Daphne sat up and adjusted her crown. "Ow." She said glaring at him, only to receive an amused smile in response.

She watched as he reached back into his shell, smiling wickedly at her as he did so. Standing up slowly, she felt her eyes widen in horror as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. 'No way.' she thought as she decided I would be wise to try and make a break for it.

After only a few steps, she was scooped up in two scaly arms and held a few feet off the ground. She struggled, but it was no use, in just a matter of seconds he'd clamped the shackles around her tiny wrists. "Thought you could get away that easily, eh Princess?" Bowser laughed as he flung her over his shoulder again. She let out a cry of discomfort as her soft hips hit the hard shell of the koopa, her eyes shutting tightly to try and block out the pain. "Oh cheer up Princess! We have your room all ready for you!" Bowser said cheerily, producing another groan from his captive.

Struggling again, Daphne gasped as Bowser carried her towards a moat of lava. 'Oh God he's going to drop me in here!' She though panicking.

Shutting her eyes tight, she clung to Bowser's shoulder as he neared the lava. Hearing a click, she opened one eye and looked over her shoulder as a drawbridge slowly fell and hit the ground with a boom. "That's right Princess, hold onto me." Bowser smiled as he walked across the bridge.

Daphne frowned, but couldn't help but hold on for dear life as balls of fire sprung from the lava and danced across the path before them. The ground on the other side of the bridge was so dry that it was cracking as Bowser walked along it, his scaly feet leaving dents in the surface. The trees around them were black with soot and had no leaves on what so ever, just a few vulture like birds staring at the two of them as they walked closer and closer to the castle door. The doors opened with a loud creak and Daphne could see nothing but darkness inside as she gazed in fear. Screaming for help she looked up to the red sky, watching as it got further away as she was taken inside.

A groan escaped soft ink lips as blue eyes fluttered open. The blonde Princess turned her head to the side as it rested on a fluffy pink pillow, only to feel it start to throb. Groaning again, she felt a hand on hers and looked up.

"Hey Peach." Mario smiled warmly.

Confused, Peach stared up at him, not quite sure what was going on. She tried to think, tried to remember anything that happened, but it all seemed like a blur. Wait. Those kids, the ones from earth. Then Bowser attacked...and then...

"Oh my God Daphne!" Peach cried, sitting up in bed. Gasping, she doubled over in bed, clutching her leg underneath the duet. Throwing the blanket off of her, she gazed down at herself. She was still wearing Daphne's purple dress, but instead of the pink tights, her leg was covered in white bandages.

"Peach, don't panic okay, it's just..."

"Where's Daphne?" Peach asked, gripping him by the shoulders. She watched as her tried to avoid her gaze, "Mario?" she almost whispered.

"Bowser took her." He said in a small voice, looking defeated, "We tried to stop him, but well, we couldn't."

Peach felt her chest tighten as tears stung her eyes, "Oh God...W-Where are the others?"

"They're outside, do you want me to get them? They want to know if you're okay." Mario said gently, picking Peach's hand up and caressing it softly.

She nodded and watched him leave the room, returning just a few minuted later with Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby. Fred had his eyes on the floor, his head hanging low. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby all crowded Peach, checking that she was fine as they smiled and asked her questions; Fred stayed silent.

Velma began rambling on with herself to Peach, something about sprains and how Daphne always seemed to have one somewhere, but Peach couldn't concentrate n what the small brunette was saying as she was too busy watching the blonde boy pacing the room. "Uh, Velma," Peach said interrupting politely, "Would you mind if I just spoke to Fred a minute...alone?"

Blinking at her, Velma just nodded, and motioned for everyone to leave the room as she stood up. Once everyone had left, Peach swung her legs over the edge of the bed, wincing as she did so. "F-Fred..." she said weakly, "...I...I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

"No it's not." He said flatly.

"No, it is, I shouldn't have gone along with it, I-I knew it wouldn't work I just...I...I don't know..." Peach sighed.

"It's not your fault." Fred said sternly, sitting down on the bed besides her, "It's mine."

The pair looked at each other, both on the brink of tears. "Fred it's not your fault." Peach whispered.

"It is, I was the one who came up with this plan in the first place." The room fell into an awkward silence as the pair gazed at each other. "I just want to get her back." Fred sighed.

Peach sighed as well, still looking into his eyes, "You love her don't you?"

"W-What no! I-I uh..." Fred stammered, blushing a dark shade of red.

Giggling, Peach turned away from him and started to play with the end of her purple dress. "I can tell you are."

Fred furrowed his brow, staring at the Princess, "H-How?" Fred said, his voice low as he glanced at the door.

"It's just...well I've seen this kind of thing before." Peach said smiling to herself.

"W-What do you mean?" Fred asked, still glancing at the door every few seconds.

"Just the way you look at her, the way you're so protective...you adore her, even if you wont admit it just yet." She said, still smiling to herself.

"You know that from personal experience?" He said, chuckling lightly.

"Yes." She said distantly, still smiling foolishly. She turned to look at him,her face now serious, "We'll get her back Fred. Mario has never failed me before, he wont let anything happen to her."

"But, he thinks that she's you." Fred muttered.

"That's better then." Peach said, "So long as he thinks that it's me , he wont lay a finger on her."

"Peach sweetie!" Bowser called out as he unlocked the door to Daphne's room.

Daphne jumped up, backing herself against the wall. She stumbled along the wall, until she reached a small window, but that was no use, she was locked in the highest tower of the castle; to jump out of that would be suicide.

"Ahhh Princess, It's so lovely to have you say with us once again." He grinned, bounding towards her before taking her hands in his own. Daphne cowered away, trembling as he smiled down at her. Slowly he lowered himself onto one knee and reached into his shell, pulling out a small, black box. "Princess Peach Toadstool," He grinned, pulling the box open to reveal a ring with a diamond the size of marble, "Will you marry me?"

Daphne froze. She stared at the ring, gawking at the size of the rock. She could feel her heart pounding as he held her hands ever so gently. 'Oh God, is this the reason he's after the Princess?' She thought, her head spinning. "N-No." She whispered, yanking her hand away.

Dodging around Bowser, Daphne made a run for the still unlocked door. Reaching out for the handle, she felt a sudden tug on her hair...her _blonde_ hair. Turning ever so slowly, a drop of swat dripping down her fear stricken face, she watched as Bowser stared in disbelief at the blonde wig hanging in hid claws. "Oh no." Daphne whimpered.

Bowser snarled and lunged for her, clawing the air as she ran out of the room. She continued to run, dashing down various corridors, each looking exactly the same as the next. Panting, she felt s if her chest was going to explode as she sprinted around another corridor, the wrong corridor. Two koopa guards grabbed her arms and yanked them hard behind her back, causing her to shriek in pain. Roughly, they dragged her down the halls until she reached the throne room, where Bowser was waiting for her. "Hello there." He growled.

Thrashing about in the guards arms, Daphne felt her heart sink as she realise there was no way she was getting out of this that easily. "Well, well, well, looks as though little Princess Peach thought she could fool me huh? Looks like she was wrong."

"You only found out 'cause you ripped the wig off." Daphne spat, receiving a sharp jab in the side for her comment.

"Kamek!" Bowser yelled, making Daphne jump. Another koopa appeared by Bowser's side, but Daphne noted the obvious difference between this one and the rest. It carried a wand nd wore a robe, wore glasses and had an evil smirk on its face. "Find out who this girl is, I want to know everything you an find out about her as soon as possible."

"Yes your highness." He smiled, turning to inspect the young red head. "I'll get right on it."

"Good." Bowser said, a sly grin on his face. "Guards, take her back to her room, I think I need to pay a visit to a pretty little blonde princess."

Peach lay in her bed biting her lip as she stared out of the window. Mario and Luigi were arranging to set out to get to Bowser's castle to retrieve the missing girl. They had tried to convince Mystery Inc. not to go with them, but they refused to listen; nothing would stop them from helping their friend. Now they were just collecting some supplies and they'd be on their way. That when she heard shouting.

"Where is she!" Boomed a voice from the courtyard.

"Oh no..." Peach groaned as she heard the commotion enter the castle.

"Peach!" The voice continued, much clearer now.

"In here!" She called out, placing a hand on her head.

More footsteps were heard, followed by the bedroom door being slammed open by a young woman. She looked to be a year or two older than Peach, with shoulder length reddish brown hair and striking blue eyes. She was dressed in a similar dress to Peach, but in orange, with a few differences in the decoration. "Oh God Peach are you okay?" the girl asked.

"Yes Daisy, I'm fine." Peach sighed, "You know I don't like it when you fuss over me." She watched Mario, Luigi and Mystery Inc. all flow through the bedroom door.

"Yeah well I like to know that my little cousin's all right." Daisy said, hitting Peach on the arm lightly. "I came as soon as I heard."

"Wow that was fast." Peach murmured, staring at her lap.

"Toadsworth called, he told me about everything." Daisy said gently. "That poor girl."

"We're going to find her." Mario interrupted, placing a hand on Peach's shoulder reasurringly.

Looking up at Mario, Peach turned to embrace him, holding him tightly as she closed her eyes, "Please be careful." She said pleadingly.

Frowning, Daisy wandered over to Luigi, who was stood scratching the back of his head, "Oh, uh, hiya Daisy." He said blushing softly.

"You be careful too, okay?" She smiled, pushing him playfully. The two smiled at each other and began to push each other around a bit before Daisy pulled Luigi close to her.

Fred watched as Velma and Shaggy subtly moved closer together and watched as Velma's hand found it's way into Shaggy's as he squeezed it tightly. They looked up at each other, blushing, before smiling and looking away. Sighing, Fred turned away, he just wanted to set off already.

After a while Mario said it was time to go, and they all set off, leaving Peach and Daisy behind. Daisy stood by the bedroom window, watching them fade into the distance as Peach laid in bed, rubbing her thigh gently.

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Daisy asked, sitting down besides Peach.

Peach stayed silent, her hands still stroking her thigh she glanced at Daisy to see her staring intensely at her. "I-I don't know." She mumbled softly.

"I mean, this is Mario and Luigi we're talking about, but..." Daisy paused, looking around the room, "It's not just them this time."

"I know." Peach said in a small voice.

Daisy placed a hand on Peach's back, instantly regretting it as Peach jumped forward gasping in pain. "Oh I'm so sorry Peach!"

"I-It's fine." Peach sighed, trying to catch her breath as her face contorted in discomfort. "I'm just still a little sore."

"A little!" Daisy cried, "You're practically-" A low, threatening chuckle silenced the two girls.

Peach felt her heart start to pound. Her breathing sped up as she felt chills run down her spine. "D-Daisy..." She said fearfully.

Shooting up from her seat on the bed, Daisy took a fighting stance. "Where is he?" She breathed slowly.

"Ahh Princess, you thought you could fool me that easily did you?" The voice boomed. "Well, it didn't work."

Without warning, the large turtle like beast smashed through the window,knocking daisy to the floor and covering the whole room in glass. He stood over Daisy, a smug smile on his face. "Bowser, d-don't hurt her!" Peach pleaded, trying to get out of bed.

Bowser grinned at her and turned back to Daisy, gripping her around the throat and holding her in the air. "Come on Daisy, time to give me and Peachie some privacy!" He laughed, throwing her out of the door and locking it behind her.

Peach backed up back into the bed, her hair standing on end. "B-Bowser, what...what have you done with Daphne?" Peach said, trying to sound intimidating, but only letting out a small whisper.

"Oh, you mean that pretty little red head? The one dressed up like you?" He smiled, circling her like a shark circled it's prey. "Oh she's fine, great actually."

"W-What are you talking about?" Peach stammered.

"Well, I wouldn't hurt an heiress to a multi-million dollar business would I?" He said, his smile twisted as he laughed menacingly.

"W-What?" Peach whispered.

"Oh, you mean you didn't know? Well, looks like you girlies have a lot to talk about, why don't you join her in my castle?" He said, reaching out and gripping her around the waist.

"P-Put me down!" She cried.

"No chance, a Princess and an heiress," He smiled, "Oh aren't I a lucky Koopa."


	7. From Bad To Worse

"Bowser! Bowser you let her go!" Daisy screamed as her fists pounded on the cream door of Peach's room. "Bowser!"

Daisy felt her heart sink as she heard Peach's screams become fainter. Turning on her heel, she ran down the stairs and out of the castle, looking up at the sky in desperation. The whole castle was in chaos as the toads ran about trying to find a way to save the Princess as Bowser carried her away in his clown copter, laughing menacingly.

"P-Please someone help!" Peach shouted, struggling in Bowser's scaly arms, "Please!"

"Don't worry Peach!" Daisy yelled, "W-We'll save you!"

Watching the toads run about frantically, Daisy groaned as she watched the clown copter get further and further away. Frowning, she ran back inside the castle.

"Woah, this place is like, far out man!" Shaggy laughed as he ran through blades of thick grass; Scooby Doo following close behind.

"Ru-huh!" Scooby agreed, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Hey guys! Wait up!" Velma giggled, breaking into a run.

Sighing, Mario looked towards Luigi, "Hey, go make sure nothing happens to them."

"Sure thing bro." Luigi grinned, running after the pair and their dog.

Fred marched alongside Mario, a determined look on his face, "How long is this going to take?" He asked.

Shrugging, Mario looked at Fred, "Uh, a few days probably, It's hard to tell."

"Isn't there anyway of getting there faster!" Fred scolded. "You might not be in a rush but I am!"

"Alright, lets get something straight." Mario said, stopping in his track to glare at Fred, "I know you're worried about this girl, but I know what I'm doing. I've done this kind of thing countless times before and no matter who it is that's locked up, I'll do anything to save them."

Grinding his teeth, Fred looked away, "I just need to know that she'd okay." He grumbled.

"I know what it feels like, trust me." Mario murmured, starting to walk again.

Fred followed behind, his head hung low. They travelled in silence for a while, the only sound the faint laughter of Shaggy, Scooby, Velma and Luigi. He looked over at Mario again, feeling the tension between them. "So, how did you meet the Princess, I mean, you're a plumber right?"

Mario looked back, smiling to himself, "Yeah, and one lucky one at that." He waited for Fred to reach him and began walking with him. "I was like you once you know, I never knew this place existed."

"Then you went to the castle? Like us?" Fred said, interested in how Mario had found this world, found the Princess.

"Well, I-" A scream cut them off. "What was that?" Mario gasped, dashing off towards the others, Fred following close behind.

They reached them, panting as they looked towards Shaggy. He was running back and forth, his arms flailing as he cried out. "Like guys, help!"

Mario burst out laughing, holding his stomach, "L-Luigi, have you seen this?"

"Yeah." Luigi chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.

"What _is _that thing?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched something small and brown follow Shaggy around.

Grinning, Mario reached down and picked it up, turning it around so they could see it's face. "This is a goomba." He explained, "One of Bowser's minions by the looks of it."

"Yeah, just kick them out of the way and you'll be fine." Luigi smiled, watching Mario toss it away. "nothing to be too worried about."

"That was like, not funny man." Shaggy sighed.

"Hey," Velma piped up, "Do you hear that?"

The group listened, all looking around in confusion, "It kind of sounds like...footsteps?" Fred said.

"Yeah it does...Really loud footsetps." Mario said, looking around.

"Hey!" Luigi cried, a confused smile on his face, "Look it's Daisy! But what's she doing here?"

The group turned to look in the direction Luigi was pointing in. They could see Daisy approaching them riding a green dinosaur.

"I-Is she on a dinosaur?" Velma asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mario frowned, " That's Yoshi." He murmured. "D-Daisy's supposed to be looking after Peach..."

"Like, you don't think..."

Mario clenched his fists, his teeth grinding as he watched Daisy and Yoshi get closer.

Daphne stared out of the window at the red sky, biting her lip nervously. "Oh God I hope he didn't get the princess." She felt awful and turned, kicking a pillow across the room, "If only I didn't try to run off, he wouldn't have found out!" Groaning, she fell onto the double bed and buried her face in the obscene amount of cushions.

She forced the tears back as she tried to think of happier times. She thought of the gang, of her family, of all the adventured she'd had over the years. That's when she heard the door slam. Her head shot up and she saw Bowser, stood towering over her, a small blonde girl hanging over his shoulder.

"Hello there sweetie." He said cheerfully, picking up Daphne's hand and kissing it gently, only to have it yanked out of his hand.

"Bowser you leave her alone!" Peach demanded, trying to wriggle out of his grip.

Smiling, he dropped Peach onto the bed, "I'll lave you girls to have a little chat." He grinned.

Bowser slammed the door behind him. They heard the key turn in the lock and Bowser's laughter become fainter as he walked away.

Peach glared at Daphne, "Why didn't you tell us you were an heiress!"

"W-What!" Daphne gasped, her eyes wide.

"If I'd have known I never would have gone through with this plan!" Peach cried.

"How did you find out! I-I never tell anyone!" Daphne exclaimed.

"Bowser knows!" Peach shouted, "And now he'd going to hold you for ransom!"

"Oh God no..." Daphne groaned, "I can hardly believe what's going on, and I'm here! My parents will never believe I've been kidnapped by a turtle and been taken to a castle in another world!"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" peach cried, "He won't let you go until your parents pay him!"

Daphne's eyes widened as she looked at Peach, she shook her head repeatedly, "Oh no, oh no, no, no...I'm never gonna get out of here am I?" She moaned, sitting down next to Peach.

"Well, Mario and Luigi are one their way to rescue you, along with your friends." Peach said, scratching her head sheepishly, she continued, "I guess they're coming to rescue me now too."

"Well you can wait for them if you want bit I'm not the kind of person who'll wait around for someone to come rescue me." Daphne growled.

"Really?" Peach said raising an eyebrow, "Velma said you were."

Daphne froze, "Oh...you heard?" She murmured, scratching the back of her head and biting her lip.

"Uh huh, seems as though you're probably just as accident prone as me." Peach commented, holding back a giggle.

"Well, I am known as Danger Prone Daphne by the gang." Daphne said, a small smile on her lips.

"From what I heard, I can see why." Peach grinned.

Daphne stamped her foot, pouted and crossed her arms. "I'm not that bad!" She said defensively.

"If you say so." Peach chuckled.

Tutting, Daphne glared at Peach, "Well, you can stay here if you want, but I'm getting out of here..." Daphne paused, looking around the room at the window, and then the door, "...somehow." She finished, biting her thumb.

"Well that'll be difficult for me considering I can't walk properly." Peach groaned, pointing to her leg.

Turning her attention to the blonde princess, Daphne raised an eyebrow. She circled Peach, looking her up and down; examining her. "How much do you weigh?"

Mario growled in frustration, kicking some mushrooms on the ground. "God, how could I let this happen!"

"Bro, calm down okay?" Luigi said soothingly.

"Calm down!" Mario yelled, "Not only has that beast got Daphne, but he's got Peach now too!"

"Mario, I tried to stop him, I really did, but he's just so strong and I...I didn't know what to do!" Daisy cried, tears in her eyes.

Holding his head in his hands, Mario groaned once again, "Great." He spat, "So he obviously knows that Daphne wasn't Peach, so God only knows what he's done with her." He took off his hat and wiped his forehead before turning to look at Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby.

"Do you think he will have..." Fred paused, feeling a lump in his throat, "...hurt her?" He finished, his voice cracking.

An awkward silence fell over the group. They all looked to each other for support, Velma stepped back into Shaggy's arms as Scooby cowered at his feet. Fred stayed silent, waiting for an answer and Mario kept his eyes on the floor.

"I-I don't think so." Daisy said, breaking the silence as she tried to avoid looking anyone in the eye.

Fred frowned, looking at Daisy. He suddenly lunged forward, gripping her by the shoulders roughly. "You know something." He accused, staring at her intensely.

"She's an heiress." Daisy whispered, intimidated by Fred's strength, "B-Bowser wants her money."

Fred found himself lost for words. Slowly he let go of Daisy and began to breath heavily. "H-How?" He said softly.

"I-I don't know, I heard him through the door talking to Peach, he said something about why would he hurt an heiress." Daisy mumbled, moving over to Luigi and Yoshi.

Mario stared at Mystery Inc. looking shocked. "She's an heiress?" he said, astounded.

Fred ran his fingers through his hair, "Y-yeah, her parents own one of the biggest toiletries companies in the world."

"How much is she worth?" Mario said, standing up.

"I-I dunno." Fred murmured. "Daphne won't even tell us, never mind some monster that just kidnapped her."

"Well," Velma added, "Thinking about it, the company could be worth millions by now, perhaps even a billion."

"But like, she has four sisters, so she wont inherit it all." Shaggy frowned.

"Nevertheless, that's still a massive amount of money." Luigi commented, pulling Daisy close to him by the waist.

"A massive amount that Bowser wants to get his grubby hands on." Mario said, grinding his teeth.

"But does he know how much she's worth, or does he just know she's an heiress?" Daisy questioned, if she won't even tell you then why would she tell Koopa?"

"Torture perhaps?" Luigi suggested.

"What!" Fred shouted, his eyes wide.

Mario looked away, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time."

Velma swallowed, "does he uh, torture people often?"

Mario still didn't look at anyone, "Yeah...Not as much any more, but he still does..."

Velma turned to Shaggy, a worried look on her face. Fred was ow panicking, pacing back and forth as he muttered to himself. "Well, what are we waiting for, we need to go!"

"No." Mario said sternly, "It's getting late, the sun will be setting soon."

"Well we'll like, travel through the night! Shaggy cried, Scooby bouncing around next to him.

"No." Mario said again, "I want to get there just as much as you, but its dangerous at night, you don't know what you'll run into."

"So what do we do?" Fred said, glaring at him.

"We set up camp."


	8. Little Rich Girls

"Lights out girlies!" Bowser chirped, opening the door to Peach and Daphne's room.

Daphne took a few steps back from the koopa, her fists clenched, but to scared to take a chance and throw a punch. Peach glanced at Daphne, shaking her head quickly as she noticed Daphne's fighting stance.

"Kamek!" Bowser boomed, "Get in here!"

In a puff of smoke, the very same koopa which Daphne had seen before, was standing in the middle of the room, hunched over and grinning. "Yes your highness?" He sneered.

"Change these two for me, they can't sleep in those dresses now can they" Bowser laughed, smiling at the pair.

Taking a few more steps back, Daphne felt her chest tighten. She didn't like the idea of anyone getting her changed, never mind some old turtle with a strange smile on it's face. "Wait, w-what" She stammered, "N-No!" She protested.

Suddenly more smoke filled the room, causing both girls to choke and cough. Once it had cleared, they looked down at their selves, feeling much more vulnerable. "O-Oh my God!" Daphne exclaimed as she caught sight of herself in a nearby mirror. The pink dress she wore just seconds ago had disappeared, and in its place, was a very short, low cut lilac night gown. Immediately, she gripped the end of the gown and pulled it further down, blushing uncontrollably.

Looking to Peach for some sort of reassurance, Daphne saw that she too, was dressed in the same, short, skimpy nightgown, only in a light shade of pink. The princes was stunned as she looked down at herself, and then towards Daphne and pulled the bedsheets over her, her own face as red as Daphne's. "Bowser!" She scolded.

"Oh, well don't you two look lovely." He leered.

"A very pretty pair indeed sire." Kamek commented.

"I think they better hurry up into bed, or they might just freeze." Bowser grinned, "Well, goodnight girlies!" With that, Bowser left the room, Kamek following close behind, and slammed the door shut, locking it behind them.

As if on cue, a gust of wind blew through the stone window, sending chills up Daphne's spine. "Oh God, it's freezing." She mumbled, turning to see that there was no glass in the window.

"Its always gets cold at night in dark land." Peach groaned, tugging the blankets closer towards her.

"And these don't exactly help." Daphne growled, tugging at the flimsy material of the night gown, "He has to be joking with these!"

"I uh, I don't think he is." Peach muttered, shivering.

Furrowing her brow, Daphne looked down at what she was wearing, a little closer this time, "Wait, i-is this see through?"

Peach's jaw dropped as she let go of the blankets to examine her own nightie. "O-Oh my, I think it is...but only slightly."

"That perverted turtle!" Daphne shouted. "I swear to God I'll kill him for this!"

Quickly, the two girls jumped into the double bed, both shivering helplessly. They huddled in close, pulling the duvet around them. "I hate him." Peach hissed, tugging on the blanket.

"hey stop hogging all the duvet!" Daphne moaned, pulling them back.

"But I'm freezing!" peach protested.

"Well so am I!" Daphne retorted, glaring at Peach.

Fred sighed. Mario had decided to set up camp, even though they had hardly gotten anywhere. The gang were all asleep, Velma had snuggled up to Shaggy and Scooby and fallen asleep, but Fred stayed away from them,he wasn't in the mood for cuddling anyone at the moment, except for Daphne, but she was miles away, locked up in some castle. He looked around as he lay on the ground, pretending to be asleep. Luigi was lay against a log, Daisy by hid side, her head resting on his shoulder as she held onto his arm, Yoshi lay at their feet.

Sighing again, he turned to where Mario was sleeping, only to find he wasn't there anymore. Frowning, he stood up, "Mario?" He called out, being careful not to wake the others. No answer. Staying silent, he listening intently, picking up on rustles, and faint splashes.

Cautiously, Fred tip toed along the grass and into the woods surrounding their camp, following the sound of splashing. After a few minutes, her reached a small clearing with a pond in the centre. There wasn't much there apart from that, just a few logs and stones, and a plumber perched on a large rock, looking troubled. "Mario?"

Jumping slightly, Mario turned to see Fred. "What are you doing up?" He asked.

"Well I could ask you the same thing." Fred replied, sitting besides him on the rock.

"Just thinking really." Mario murmured, tossing a small stone into the pond.

"What about?" Fred asked, picking up a stone.

"Just, everything really." He sighed.

Throwing the stone, Fred looked at Mario. "Peach?" he said, only to have Mario nod sadly in reply. "So, how did you guys meet? I tried to ask before, but well, never got an answer."

Mario scratched the back of his head gingerly. "Well, it's kind of a long story."

"Its not like I don't have time." Fred replied.

Mario looked at Fred and smiled faintly, "You won't let this go will you?" He chuckled.

Grinning, Fred shook his head, "No way."

"Fine," Mario smiled, "I'll tell you. I'm not from here, I'm really from Brooklyn, me and my brother Luigi use to live there before we found a warp pipe to this world." He paused, sighing heavily, "When we got here, we didn't know what to do, so we started walking, and eventually found the castle, it turned out to be well, a bit of bad timing on our part."

"Hey, give the covers back!" Peach gasped, yanking the duvet back off Daphne.

"No!" Daphne practically shouted back, "Just because you're a princess doesn't mean I'll let you have your own way!"

"And just because you're and heiress doesn't mean I'll let you have what you want!" Peach hissed back.

"Okay fine!" Daphne yelled, "We're both spoiled little rich girls but this blanket is MINE!" With one final tug, Daphne had the whole duvet wrapped around her, but a small squeal made her sit up abruptly.

"Daphne!" She heard an angered growl, looking down she found out why.

"Oops..." She said sheepishly, staring down at the blonde princess glaring up at her from the floor.

"I'm going to kill you! Peach screamed, trying to stand up with her injured leg.

"Ha! You can't even stand up!" Daphne mocked, leaning down and smiling at Peach. Daphne felt a harsh pull on her red locks and gasped as she too fell to the floor, "H-Hey!" She shouted, as Peach continued to pull her hair.

The two girls fought on the floor as they shouted insults at each other between screeches. A sudden bang of the door brought them both to their senses as they looked up to see an annoyed looking Bowser standing over them.

"What are you two _doing?" _He growled, reaching down and gripping then both by the hair and holing them in the air, in each hand.

"She started it!" They both yelled simultaneously.

Bowser groaned and shook his head, "You're like two kids." He grumbled, dropping them both at his feet.

The two girls seemed to mirror each other as they crossed their legs and folded their arms across their chest, pouting. Daphne's eyes sudden;y lit up, a smile forming on her face. Without warning, she shot to her feet and made a run for the door, straight out of the room. "What the-" Bowser boomed, running after Daphne, but making sue to slam the door shut after him.

Daphne dashed around the corridors, not sure where to run to, but that didn't stop her; the guards did. "Let go of me!" She shouted, flailing her arms as they gripped her by the hair. Reluctantly, she stopped struggling as they pulled spears out and aimed them at her.

Dragging her back to her room, they threw her into Bowser's arms, "Damn troublemaker." He hissed, dragging her towards Peach who was perched on the end of the bed, rubbing her sore leg. "Throwing her onto the bed, he pulled our a pair of handcuffs, still looking rather annoyed, he clamped on around Daphne's wrist,and one around Peach's.

Both girl's eyes widened as they looked at the shackled in disbelief. "What!" The both cried together, only to glare at each other once they realised what they had done.

"Well, you two need to start getting along because all of that bickering gave me a headache." Bowser groaned, "And this way," He pointed a finger at Daphne, "you won't be going anywhere so long as you're attached to her." he finished, pointing to Peach and then her injured leg.

"Oh, and you don't think I'll just drag her along behind me." Daphne spat.

"Hey!" Peach complained, pushing Daphne ff the bed, only to be dragged down herself because of the handcuffs.

"Oh, real clever." Daphne groaned, pushing the blonde princess off her.

Fred looked at the pond, "So when you got here Peach was already locked away in Bowser's castle?"

"Yup." Mario sighed, "She is a rather accident prone princess."

"Huh, reminds me of a certain red head I know." Fred chuckled.

Mario laughed softly too, "Yeah I bet they get along well."

"So, you just went to save Peach, even though you'd never even met her before?"

Nodding Mario kept his eyes on the pond. "The kingdom was just falling apart, they needed help, so I set out t rescue her with my bother Luigi. I almost quit, so many times, after all of the fake castle, I just lost my fighting spirit, but I'm glad I didn't give up. If I did God knows what he would have done the the Princess." Mario's voice was low, he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"W-What was it like when you finally found her? What did it...feel like?" Fred said softly.

_Author's note: Okay so sorry about the short Chapter, but I'm planning something with the next chapter which made me cut it off here ^.^' _

_Please review and tell me what you think so far! ^-^_


	9. Flashback

_~Flashback~_

_All I can fell is the steady throbbing through my body as I trudge down yet another dank corridor searching for her. I can't believe I'm doing this. Chasing a girl I've never met, fighting beast after beast only to have my hope crushed as I realise she's not there; she never is. I only ever seem to find toads, telling me that she's in another castle, somewhere far, far away. _

_I've gone through seven castles now, each one just a big disappointment when I finally reached the dungeon, finding a small fungus instead of the princess. I'm not sure whether to carry on; this is the eighth castle, the eighth beast, I pray to god it's not the eighth toad. _

_My brother is waiting outside, I faced the dreaded Koopa King alone and now I walk the halls alone, looking for a girl I don't know. I don't even know what she looks like, she's a stranger to me, why I'm trying to save her I'm not sure, I guess I just can't say no when someone asks for help._

_A scuffle grabs my attention, instinctively I raise my fists, my heart pounding as I take in my surroundings. The walls are so close in this corridor, I have no idea how that creature managed to make it's way around. Revolting stenches fill the air as I move further and further down, so much so that I have to cover my nose and wipe my eyes from the burning. The noises are becoming louder as I get closer, laughs fill the empty hall and shadows dance in the candlelight. The silhouettes I can see are huge, it must be that creature again, that Bowser Koopa, trying to sneak up on me. He must have survived the lava, he must have been stronger than I thought, he must be waiting for me. But I know he's there._

_Springing around the corner, I swing my fist and collide with a hard shell, breaking it into pieces. I swing again, knocking the turtle to the ground; triumphantly, I stand over it. But it's not him. It's just one of his minions, a small, weak koopa guard. Guess I'm just a little paranoid. _

_So I set off again, down the seemingly endless halls, my heart sinking more and more with each and every step I take. I doubt I will find her, I think I'm just on a wild goose chase here. Months I've spent searching, just waiting for the moment I'd finally see her, finally get to sweep her off her feet and take her home, but I just don't know if I can do that, because I just can't find her. _

_Then I see the light. Well, It's not that bright, just two candles mounted on a stone wall, either side of a wooden door. I can hear something, only faintly, but, but could it really be, could it be her? So close, but so far, I run as fast as my feet can carry me, my heart pounding with each step, hopes rising in my chest. The more I run, the further away the door seems to get, but the sobs from inside are getting louder, ringing in my ears as I gasp for breath. _

_Then I reach the door. _

_It's locked. I don't have a key, and I don't care, I'll get this door open one way or another. So I slam my shoulder into the hard oak, grunting as I feel a pain rush through, but I won't stop, not until I get in there. I can hear screaming, a female voice begging me not to hurt her as I run at the door again. I break through it and land on the hard stone floor, staring up at a young woman. _

_I watch her tremble as she looks down at me, her eyes glazed over with tears threatening to fall. "P-Please," She whimpered, her voice hoarse, "n-no more." _

_Not sure what to do, I gingerly sit up and lean towards her, taking note of how she winced as I drew closer. She was slumped against the wall, her arms limp in the shackles holding her upright. Her dress was torn in most places and covered in grime and what appeared to be dried blood. Her pale skin was filthy, except for the white streaks the tears has cut through the dirt; her blonde hair plastered to her face, her blue eyes begging for mercy. I didn't think I could see a human being in such an awful state, let alone a princess._

"_P-Princess Toadstool?" I say, hearing my voice shake._

_Writing in her bonds, her chest heaving, she looked into my eyes, "P-Please." She whispered, "I-I can't take anymore." _

_Swallowing, I crouched besides her, "Ssh, I'm not going to hurt you." I murmur, cupping her face in my hands._

"_N-No, I don't...I don't believe you." She cried, pulling away, tears streaming down her cheeks. _

_I sighed and brushed the hair from her bruised face, my hand shaking. "I'm here to take you home." I say soothingly._

"_N-No!" She cried, shaking her head, "I-I won't fall for it!" She was becoming hysterical, thrashing about as she tried to avoid my touch, "N-Not again! You've crushed all of my hope Koopa and I won't fall for it again!"_

"_Koopa?" I whisper, frowning, "Princess please, I-I'm here to help you." _

_I reach for her chains, listening to her sob and choke, begging for me not to hurt her. It's killing me seeing someone like this, she looks so scared, so small and so weak. I bet that Koopa enjoyed seeing her like this, helpless and completely at his mercy, he has that sick sense of humour, he likes to watch people suffer, that's something I've learned over the past few months. The shackles are rusted, they've cut her tiny wrists to shreds and left them a bloody mess. Carefully, I yank them from the wall, they break easier than I anticipated, probably due to the rust._

_She falls forward, and I catch her, hearing her cry out as I get a firm grip on her frail body. I think this is the worst I've ever felt in my life, no one should be subjected to what this girl has been through. I can see her wounds clearer now as I pull her into the moonlight leaking through the small window in her cell. She's covered in blood, some dry, some fresh and the pale skin I can see through her ripped dress reveal the claw marks and bruises. Her back is the worst, it looks as though she's been whipped repeatedly, there's practically no back left in her dress. She whimpers as I run my hand gently over her back, but doesn't have the strength to stop me._

"_Come on, I'm taking you home." I say softly, pulling her t her feet where she stood shakily._

"_I-I can't walk" She whispered, lowering her gaze; refusing to look me in the eyes. _

_I look at her sympathetically, and bend down in front of her, pulling her onto my back. I felt her thin arms wrap around my neck, holding her legs gently in my hands. "Is this okay?" I ask._

_I feel her head on my shoulder move slightly as she murmurs a soft "Yes." in my ear and bury her face into the crook of my neck. I can't help but think that if I had turned up just a little later, of what could have happened to her. A part of me wishes I didn't find her, just a small part of me, simply because seeing her n such a terrible state breaks my heart, such a young gril tortured to such an extent, would make anyone's blood boil._

_~End Of Flashback~_

"H-How old was she, when you found her?" Fred said gently, feeling goosebumps on his arms.

"Barely turned sixteen." Mario said, sighing heavily, "Like I said, she was so young. I'm a few years older than her myself."

"I-I don't know what to say." Fred whispered.

Mario stood up, throwing one last stone into the pond, "There's nothing _to_ say Fred." He then walked away.


	10. Violent Nights

Daphne groaned softly as she stirred in bed. She could hear voices, quite but still clearly there, pulling her out of her dreamland. Groggily, she pulled the blankets closer to her and yawned, her eyes slowly opening.

"You've woken her up." She heard a female voice whisper softly. Daphne shut her eyes again, then steadied her breathing, taking in slow deep breaths and letting them out slowly.

"No, she's still asleep." A gruff voice answered.

Daphne felt a movement through the mattress followed by a slight tug on her arm and then a sigh. "Why can't you leave me alone?" She heard the girl whimper, her voice cracking.

"You know what I want Peach." The rough voice said back.

She felt another tug on her arm followed by a gentle cry. "N-No." Peach sniffed.

Rolling over to face the pair, Daphne kept her eyes shut and continued to pretend to sleep. The two were silent as she moved, holding their breath until they were convinced she was sleeping. "You don't have a choice in the matter Princess." Bowser continued. Daphne opened an eye slightly to see Bowser standing over Peach, his hand on her shoulder. "Your resistance will only get more and more people hurt." Daphne watched Peach try to wriggle free from his grip on her shoulder, but he just tightened it. "You wouldn't want red here to end up like your Mother would you?"

Daphne closed her eye as she felt a shiver run down her spine, "Do you really think I'm that stupid Bowser?" Peach answered, her voice soft but firm, "Even if I did marry you, it wouldn't stop you hurting the ones I love, the ones I care about. You'd still destroy my kingdom, fore my people into slavery and it would all be okay, because you would be king."

Daring to open her eye again, she saw Bowser glaring at Peach as she stared at her lap, tears trickling down her face. "If you don't start behaving yourself, I'll have to start hurting you again Princess." Bowser warned, tightening his grip on her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain.

"P-Please Bowser, d-don't-" She ended her sentence with a quite shriek of pain as his claws pierced her skin.

"Think about your answer." He threatened, letting go of her and leaving the room.

Daphne waited until he left the room, waited until Peach broke down and let all of her tears pour out. "Don't give in to him." She murmured, still lying down with her eyes closed.

Peach's head shot up from her hands as she looked down at Daphne, "W-What?" She choked.

"I was awake." Daphne answered, opening her eyes to look up at the blonde princess. "I heard what he said, what you said, and I saw what he did."

Shifting about on the bed, Peach looked around at anything except for the red head beside her. "O-Oh."

Sighing, Daphne sat up and pulled Peach's hair over one shoulder to get a better look at the gash on her other. "Come on, we'll go sort this out." She said gently, crawling out of bed.

Dragging her along by the chain connecting them by the wrist, Daphne led Peach into the small bathroom joined onto their room and turned on the light. Running the taps in the sink, Daphne pulled a flannel down from the shelf and dampened it. Turning to Peach, she sat her down on the closed toilet seat and frowned at her wound.

"That looks bad." She murmured softly, watching the blood drip down Peach's pale skin. Wiping the blood running down her arm, she looked at the claw mark and bit her lip, "This might hurt a bit..." Peach gasped as Daphne dabbed at her wound with the flannel then held it against it firmly. Wriggling is discomfort, Peach let out a shaky breath and looked down.

Dipping the cloth into the water again, Daphne wrung it out and pressed it against Peach's shoulder again, feeling slightly guilty as she gasped again. "Does he hurt you a lot?" Daphne asked in a gentle voice as she moved the cloth away to look at the wound again.

Peach turned away from her, her eyes watering again. "N-Not as much anymore." She mumbled in response.

"But he used to." Daphne stated rather than asked.

Nodding, Peach looked to Daphne, her eyes still watering. "Yeah." She admitted, lowering her head once again. "At first, it was so bad that I was bedridden for months after, then after a while, Bowser found new tactics." Tears spilling over the edges, Peach didn't even get chance to wipe them away before Daphne's hand was on her face. Sniffing, she still didn't look up, but continued, "It's funny how emotional pain can leave you just as crippled as physical pain can."

Slowly moving her hand away from her face, Daphne put down the flannel and frowned, "Hold on." She said softly as she gripped the bottom of her nightgown. Tearing the fabric, she began to wrap it around Peach's arm as a make shift bandage. "You better appreciate this." She muttered to Peach as she smiled jokingly at her. "This nightie was short enough before this."

Smiling weakly, Peach wiped her reddened eyes, "Thank you." She said gratefully.

"It's no problem." Daphne smiled back, pulling the princess into a hug, "I'm here for you." She said, rubbing her back as she felt tears drip onto her back. "Come on, you need to get some sleep."

"Wake up!" Mario yelled from the centre of their camp, "We need to get going."

"Like man, It's too early." Shaggy complained as he and Scooby buried their faces into the ground.

"It's dawn, we need to get going and make the most of the light." Luigi answered, helping Daisy up.

"Yeah guys, hurry up." Fred ordered from beside Mario.

About 10 minutes later they had packed their supplies and were once again on the move. They didn't haver far to go, over the years Mario and Luigi had found short cuts, hidden warp pipes made for such an occasion as this in order to Reach Bowser's castle before he had chance to harm the Princess.

"Okay," Mario addressed the group, "follow me." With that he ran forward and leaped over a hole in the ground, possibly miles wide, but only around five metres lengthways. Luigi followed, then Daisy, then Yoshi, but Mystery Inc. all stopped once they reached the gap, their eyes wide.

"L-Like I can't jump that, man!" Shaggy protested as Scooby nodded vigorously beside him.

"Just do it!" Mario shouted as he looked into the distance where the faint outline of a castle could be seen.

"But...But...Physics!" Velma cried, moving away from the edge, "I-It's not going to work!"

"Yeah Mario, I don't think Velma could make this jump." Fred said, "I might be able to but it's risky."

"Just jump." Daisy said calmly, "You'll make it."

"There's something abut this place," Luigi added, "It gives humans powers that they don't have on Earth."

Velma raised an eyebrow sceptically, "W-What?"

"That's why Luigi and I were sent to rescue the Princess when we came here." Mario explained, "We have powers that the inhabitants here don't, humans are rare here and it's something to do with our genetics."

Glancing at Velma, Fred gripped her hand, "Come on Velms." He said, running forward with her and leaping into the air. He heard Velma scream as they flew through the air, landing quite a long way away from Mario, Luigi and Daisy.

"Overshot it a little." Daisy laughed as she helped Velma up.

"Jinkies, just a little." Velma chuckled as she readjusted her glasses.

Shaggy and Scooby looked terrified, but there was no denying the look of excitement in their eyes. "Like superpowers? Man, that is co cool!" Shaggy exclaimed as he ran forward, Scooby by his side as they both flew high into the air before plummeting to the ground on the other side, even further than Fred and Velma.

"Right." Mario said, getting everyone's attention, "there a warp pipe a few miles from here, It will take us close to the castle, that is, if Bowser's troops haven't discovered it and destroyed it yet."

"If you see any goombas, koopas or anything that looks threatening, either jump on it, kick it, punch it, just get rid of it." Luigi added.

"We won't be stopping fr a while now, probably not until we get to the castle, so keep on your toes for any opposition that we'll be meeting soon enough." Mario finished before setting off for the warp pipe.

"Oh, and don't be afraid to pick up any mushrooms." Daisy added with a giggle.

"Just don't pick up a purple one." Luigi warned as he moved closer to Daisy as they walked.


	11. You Monster

"Chop, chop ladies." A koopa guard sneered as he prodded Daphne in the back with a stick, "Can't keep King Koopa waiting."

Snarling at the guard, Daphne stopped in her tracks, "We'll go at our own pace thank you." She hissed, pointing at Peach's leg.

"Like a give a damn, keep moving." He replied, prodding Daphne again.

That morning the two girls had been woken up by a cackle in their room, coming from a face Daphne had already grown tired of. Kamek was once again stood before them,waving his wand and smiling. As they both stumbled out of bed, they looked at each other, noticing their change of clothing. Daphne was wearing her usual purple dress and pink tights with matching purple heels and a green scarf; Peach now wore her pink gown and matching pink heels, her crown once again atop her head. Soon after this, they were escorted out by a guard and told that their presence was requested by King Bowser. Reluctantly, they followed, and now, they were trailing down seemingly endless corridors, all the while being prodded like cattle.

Peach was struggling to walk still due to her injured leg, and Daphne could see her stumbling as the guard pressed the stick to the small of her back, urging her forward. "I swear to God if he doesn't stop that, I'll ram that stick right up his-"

"Right, we're here." The guard interrupted, opening a large door. Both girls walked through, Daphne sporting an amused smile at Peach's obvious distaste of being poked repeatedly with a stick.

Opening her mouth to comment on Peach's outburst, Daphne was cut off as Bowser let out a hardy laugh from the top seat of a large dining table. Daphne's jaw dropped at the size of the table, it must have had at least one hundred seats around it and stretched to the very end of the room. "What a lovely pair!"

The guard pressed the stick against Peach's back again and pushed her so that she was staggering over to Bowser, Daphne following as the handcuffs dragged her along. Peach was forced down into the seat beside Bowser and Daphne the one next to her, all the while Bowser rested his head on one hand, grinning at them both. "What do you want?" Daphne spat, narrowing her eyes at him.

Still smiling, he snapped his fingers and instantly three koopas hurried out carrying plates. "Breakfast time." he said merrily as the plates were placed in front of each of them.

Staring at her plate,Daphne tried to figure out exactly what she had been serves, but wither way, it looked delicious and she hadn't eaten for a while now, so she decided to take a chance and scooped some of the brown, meat looking, substance on her fork. However, just before she had a chance to put it in her mouth, she felt a tug on her wrist as it was dragged away from her. Blinking, she looked at Peach who was staring at her, her eyes dark.

"Don't eat that." She said slowly, looking at her through her eyelashes.

"Come on Peach," Bowser grumbled, his mouth full, "Just let her eat in peace."

Daphne watched as Peach curled her lip in disgust and shot Bowser a cold stare, "You actas though I don't know what you've given us."

"Of course you know what it is, it's a delicacy in my kingdom." He chuckled.

Clenching her hands into fists, Peach glared at him, "in my Kingdom we call it cannibalism."

Dropping her fork, Daphne gasped and covered her mouth, "What _is _this?" She mumbled, staring at the plate.

"Mushrooms." Bowser said simply, stabbing his food with his fork harshly.

Peach turned to Daphne, fire n her eyes, "Toad." She said, her voice breaking.

Pushing the plate away, Daphne stared at the two of them, "Toad as in frog?" She asked timidly.

"No," peach growled, jumping up from her seat, "Toad as in one of my subjects."

Daphne felt sick as she looked down at the plate once more, then to Bowser, who was chewing a piece, "Oh God..."

"I don't see why you don't try it Peach, it really is quite delicious." Bowser grinned.

"You're a monster!" peach scolded, Lifting her fork and stabbing Bowser in the hand with it.

He roared in pain and rose from his seat, slamming his fists down onto the table, causing it to lift into the air at the other end. He drew his claws back menacingly, ready to strike, but before he had chance, Peach was dragged out of the way by the chain on her wrist and flung over Daphne's shoulder.

"W-What are you doing!" Peach gasped as Daphne began to run.

"Getting us out of here!" Daphne cried back, springing out of the dining room.

Shaggy trudged after the group, his stomach rumbling, "Like man, can't we eat something?" He whined.

"We just stopped ten minutes ago!" Daisy groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Ignore him, he's always like this, so's Scooby." Velma sighed, walking beside Daisy.

Mario and Fred were leading the group and looked back, "Come on guys we're almost there now!" Mario called back.

"Yeah come on, Daph needs us!" Fred added.

Whimpering, Scooby looked up at Saggy with puppy dog eyes, "Like, come on Soob, for Daph." He sighed.

"...Reah..." Scooby mumbled, trotting along after Shaggy.

The walked along a little further until Mario came to and abrupt halt. "Okay." He said quietly, "We're nearing the castle now, so everything we've done so far, all gets a lot worse here."

"Like, reassuring man." Shaggy muttered, earning a jab in the side from Velma.

"He will have a lot of defences out so we have to be really careful now." He said slowly, watching as they listened intently. My guess is that there's going to be a group waiting for us when we start walking again, so we need a plan."

"What if we split up." Daisy suggested, causing Fred to glare at her.

Raising an eyebrow, Mario looked at her, "Go on..."

"Well, the guards out here won't be as strong as the ones closer to the castle, so if Velma and I distract the guards we face, then the rest of you can carry on and fight any stronger ones on the inside."

Velma's eyes bulged, "Wait, what?" She blabbered.

"Come on Velma, we can take them." Daisy winked.

Mario smiled, "Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad plan..."

Daphne could feel her chest tighten as she ran through the castle halls, not sure where she was heading. She'd been running around with Peach over her shoulder for about ten minutes now and didn't think she could go any further when she spotted tow large doors. A smile crossed her face as she recognised these as the entrance to the castle, "Yes!" She cried.

"Looking at where they were heading, Peach;'s eyes widened as Daphne prepared to barge through the doors, "Wait, Daphne Don't! She gasped, but it was too late.

Bursting through the doors, Daphne's smile faded as she whimpered quietly, "You've got to be kidding me..." She said breathlessly as she dropped Peach.

The two girls groaned as they looked around the throne room, surrounded by guards. They quickly circled them, pointing spears at them as they all smiled. Sat in the throne was of course Bowser, nostrils flaring as he fumed, "Well, well," He seethed, "Look who decided to drop in."

"Damn..." Daphne sighed as the guards closed in on them.

"I tried to warn you, everything in here looks the same." Peach murmured quietly, standing up and leaning against Daphne.

Bowser got up of his throne and strolled over to them, "Well girlies, you couldn't ave chosen a better time to show up considering that your friends are on their way over ere as we speak." He paused, leering at the pair, "Of course, you'll both make excellent bait for the Mario brothers, and while I'm at it, I might as well sort Red's friends our too."

"Do one." Daphne spat back, her eyes narrow slits.

"Then of course, when they're all out of the way, I'll get a nice amount of money for the red head, and you, my dear Princess, will be my bride." He gloated.

"No chance." peach hissed defiantly.

"Hmm, Well I'm afraid you don't really have a choice in the matter." He smiled, "Guards, why don't you get these two ready for our little get together, eh?"

"You won't get away with this Bowser!" Peach squealed as the guards seized her, "Mario and Luigi will stop you!"

Daphne fought of the guards the best she could, but it was no use, they were too strong, "And my friends won't go down without a fight." Daphne snarled as she was pushed into Peach.

"They may put up a fight," Bowser boasted, "But they will 'go down' eventually."

_Author's Note: Woah I've really neglected this story, sorry about that xD Anyways, I'm hoping to get this done soon, although I'm not too sure when that will actually be ^-^'_

_Please review to tell me what you think, I have a general Idea but I kinda make most of my stories up as I go along ^-^'_


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